Softball Preview: Marianna Bulldogs vs. Cottondale Hornets
The Marianna Bulldogs will be playing in front of their home fans against the Cottondale Hornets at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Marianna will head into Thursday's contest hoping to keep the good times rolling: they only won by two when they last took the field, which might have inspired the 11-point they dealt Port St. Joe on Thursday. Marianna put the hurt on Port St. Joe with a sharp 12-1 win.
Kennedy Temples was a major factor no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out ten batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off seven hits. Temples has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't pitched less than five innings every time she's pitched this season. Temples was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Jadyn Riano was incredible, getting on base in three of her five plate appearances with a home run, four RBI, and two runs. Addison Giles was another key contributor, going 2-for-2 with a home run and three RBI.
Meanwhile, Cottondale waltzed into their matchup on Thursday with three straight wins... but they left with four. Everything went their way against the Wildcats as they made off with a 12-2 victory. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for Cottondale considering their one-run performance the match before.
Like Marianna, Cottondale also got a great game from a two-way player: Julissa Harris. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run while striking out six over six innings pitched. Harris was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 1-for-4.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Paige Carter, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. Another player making a difference was Kaylee Cripes, who scored a run and stole three bases while getting on base in two of her four plate appearances.
Marianna's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 13-7. As for Cottondale, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-6 record this season.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Monday as neither team is afraid to steal. Marianna has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Cottondale struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.6. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Marianna took their victory against Cottondale when the teams last played back in March by a conclusive 8-0. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Cottondale's Annelise Skipper, who kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out eight over four innings pitched. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Marianna still be able to contain Skipper? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
